Saddleback water polo teams beat Santa Ana by a wide margin

Men’s team co-captian Keeon Jabbour goes for a shot on goal. (Ally Beckwitt/Lariat)

Saddleback’s Men and Women’s Water Polo team defeated Santa Ana College 23-6 and 20-7 on Sept. 20, raising their records to 6-2 and 5-3, respectively.

“Our defense is pretty good, so we’re able to get some early opportunities and jump to a big lead right away, which I think kind of set the tone for the game,” coach Jason Lynch said.

The men started off strong and ended that way,  able maintain a high lead against Santa Ana, and the women’s team followed. The men’s were able to take advantage of the penalty Santa Ana received by scoring right after.

This is co-captain’s Keeon Jabbour, second season playing for the Gauchos. He said the game helped the team illustrate its goal of putting talent together into a “kind of cohesiveness.” He added everyone on the team had equally contributed to the game.

“We just came back from a tournament this past weekend,” Jabbour said. “We did pretty well 3 in 1. It’s really coming together as a team we have a lot of individual talent and we just gotta put that together.”

Drivers Joshua Mourer and Max Gonter scored goals with strategic counter-attacks and defensive seals. Their efforts helped ensure a strong defense for the team, Jabbour said.

Jason Lynch, head coach of the men’s team, was pleased with the advantage.

Mourer, who scored 3 goals, felt dissatisfied with the team’s existing dynamic because he hoped to see more emphasis on teamwork and bringing the team together closer through rapport.

“We all come from different teams and different high schools so we’re still getting the chemistry down,” Mourer said.

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